Thursday, March 14, 2019

Salmon Fillets ~ Recipe

Salmon Fillets

Unlike many of the dishes in my list of 50 Fundamental Foods that were included because they are tricky or difficult to prepare, salmon fillets are a cinch to cook properly. The trouble is, not many people know how to do it.

The only real trick to cooking salmon fillets is to not overcook them. I have been served salmon fillets in restaurants of every category that was dry and tasteless but would have been moist and delicious if only they hadn't been cooked to death.

One thing to remember when cooking salmon is that it doesn't need to be cooked completely. I like mine cooked the way a medium-well beef steak is cooked, still slightly underdone in the center. But even if you don't like your salmon cooked that way, it should be cooked just until well-done and not overdone.

Another thing to remember when cooking salmon (or any other fish, for that matter) is that the proteins in fish respond to heat differently than the proteins in land animals. Since the muscles of fish thrive in waters that are much colder than temperatures on land, the chemical changes that take place in cooking occur at lower temperatures in fish than in land animals. In other words, fish cook at lower temperatures than beef, chicken, and pork do, so they need to be cooked differently.

If you treat a salmon fillet like you would a steak or pork chop, you will wind up with a dry, flavorless piece of salmon for your reward. The typical salmon fillet is usually no thicker than about 1 inch (2.5 cm) and regardless of the cooking method used, they should never take more than 10 to 12 minutes to cook.

Here are two different methods to cook salmon fillets that I hope you will try.